OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs are trustees of a multi-employer labor-management pension fund for employees of businesses at the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx. In 2019, M. Slavin & Sons, Ltd. (“M. Slavin”), a seafood retailer, wholesaler, and distributor based in the fish market, closed shop and withdrew from the agreements that obligated it to contribute to the fund. Plaintiffs brought this action to recover M. Slavin’s withdrawal liability against, among others, M. Slavin; Oceanbox Wholesale LLC (“Oceanbox”), a company that acquired M. Slavin; and Mitchell Slavin, a former owner of M. Slavin and the sole owner of Oceanbox. See ECF No. 1. The Court previously entered default judgment against M. Slavin, see ECF No. 43, after which the parties stipulated to dismissal of all remaining claims other than Plaintiffs’ claim of successor liability against Oceanbox, see ECF No. 71. Now pending are Plaintiffs’ and Oceanbox’s cross-motions for summary judgment as to that claim. See ECF Nos. 72, 74. The vast majority of the relevant facts are undisputed. Instead, the parties’ disputes turn on application of the law to those facts — namely, on whether Oceanbox had the requisite notice of M. Slavin’s withdrawal liability and whether Oceanbox is in “substantial continuity” with M. Slavin. For the reasons that follow, the Court agrees with Plaintiffs on both scores. Accordingly, their motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and Oceanbox’s cross-motion for summary judgment is DENIED. BACKGROUND The relevant facts — taken from the joint statement of material facts that the parties filed pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1, ECF No. 68 (“Joint Rule 56.1 Stmt.”), and admissible materials jointly submitted by the parties, see ECF No. 69 — are undisputed unless otherwise indicated. See Costello v. City of Burlington, 632 F.3d 41, 45 (2d Cir. 2011). Until it ceased operations in 2019, M. Slavin was a seafood retailer, wholesaler, and distributor located in Unit 66 of the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx. Joint Rule 56.1 Stmt.
7, 26-27. More specifically, M. Slavin maintained a retail business on the floor of the Market and a wholesale business catering to other seafood distributors, restaurants, and hotels, including the Marriott, the Hilton, and the Hyatt. Id.
